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California used to be the whole reason to “go west, young man.” While it still boasts beautiful sunshine and beaches, what used to be a vibrant economy has been lost beneath soaring unemployment, plunging real estate prices, a swarm of illegal immigrants placing untenable demands on public services, nightmarish commutes, tax rates gone wild, and the kind of economic mismanagement that has some experts wondering if a statewide bankruptcy is not out of the question.

The bottom line is that more than 1.6 million people and untold businesses have left California since 2000, and they’re probably not coming back. Our own Jason Hartman, California born and raised, left the Golden State a few years back. Here are our ten favorite reasons to escape the state for good.

#1 – California Hates Business
While California lawmakers continue to pile on rules, regulations, and taxes, businesses keep running for the border. CEOs have named the state the worst place to do business in the United States seven years in a row. Anyone see a pattern?

#2 – The California Economy is on Life Support
California unemployment is still over 10 percent, and it ain’t coming down anytime soon. Why? See reason #1.

#3 – Counties and Cities are Broke
What happens when unemployment is this high? Sales tax proceeds fall! Stockton recently started skipping debt payments and plans to file for bankruptcy if it can’t reach deals with creditors. And Orange County is in even worse shape.

#4 – Disappearing Government Services
What happens when you’re about to declare bankruptcy? You start cutting back on such “nonessential” services as law enforcement. In skeleton-staffed Oakland, officers no longer respond to grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft, or vandalism complaints.

#5 – Crime and Gang Violence is Exploding
With only 37 percent of citizens working and the economy in the toilet, is it any doubt that people are leaving the state out of fear for their safety? Desperation breeds contempt for law and order.

#6 – The Decline of School Systems
In the late 1970s, California was number one in spending on public education. Now the state is ranked 48th. Do the math.

#7 – Political Correctness Run Amok
With control freaks elected at every level of government, state leaders seem intent on shoving their personal agenda down the throats of everyone else. Evidence? One California law mandates that all public school children receive education on the contributions that “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans have played in the development of California and the United States of America.”

#8 – Broken Health Care Systems
It’s going to take more than Obamacare to fix this problem. Hospitals are being overrun by the sheer numbers of poor people and illegal aliens taking advantage of “free” medical care at emergency rooms. California is last in all 50 states in number of emergency rooms per million people.

#9 – Earthquakes!
Approximately 90 percent of all earthquakes happen along the “Ring of Fire,” where California lies. The Big One could hit at any time.